1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that executes a plurality of tasks as a continuous process flow, and to a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A task denotes, for example, a process that can be realized with the individual functions of an image forming apparatus or the like provided with multiple functions, or a process that can be realized by an executable application. Input and output tasks provided in the above image forming apparatus include scanning originals, printing document data, transmission (emails, faxes, files, etc.), and saving to disk (i.e., to a hard disk internally or externally to the image forming apparatus). Editing tasks include combining multiple pieces of document data, deleting pages within document data, and the like.
A combination of tasks that is created with the aim of linking together the above plurality of tasks to be processed in time-series is called a process flow. Combining tasks in this way enables various combined processing to be performed, including inputting a result obtained with one task and starting another task according to the input processing result.
As such, there are image forming apparatuses that can display these process flows as a user interface (UI). With such image forming apparatuses, a process flow is executed according to a button operation on the UI by a user. This UI is provided with a mode in which general users are able to create process flows, and a mode (administrator mode) in which general users are not able to create process flows. Administrator mode is set in the case where the administrator wants to allow general users to use a process flow that he or she has designed, with the administrator creating an entire process flow for general users to use and distributing the process flow to users.
On the other hand, it is often the case that part of a process flow is designed by the administrator, with general users being allowed to edit the remainder. For example, assume that the administrator wants to send the same image data as was printed to the document management server, and has created a corresponding process flow. In this case, the same image data as the printed image data need only be transmitted to the document management server, so it is permissible to combine a plurality of documents beforehand, or to delete unnecessary pages from the document data. However, when administrator mode has been set, general users are not permitted to edit the process flow. If a general user wants to combine a plurality of documents, or delete pages from the document data, he or she must ask the administrator to edit the process flow. Dealing with all such requests places a burden on the administrator, and also creates hassles for general users.
In response, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-270632 proposes a technique for defining user information in the process flow data, and storing the user information in the image processing apparatus in association with executability information on each task. With this technique, when execution of a process flow is instructed, a user defined in the process flow executes only permitted tasks. Further, the user is able to change the parameters (number of copies, double-sided printing, etc.) of permitted tasks.
However, with the above conventional technique, the user, when executing a task, is only able to change the parameters of that task, and cannot add a new task. Also, the user, being unable to create a new process flow, is required to change the parameters every time the task is executed.